At around 7.15pm, one of Port Macquarie Marine Rescue’s vessels was called out to rescue two people on board a 40-foot flybridge cruiser when they ran into trouble near Bird Rock.

The vessel had engine alarms sounding and its cabin was filled with exhaust fumes.

“They were travelling up the coast and heading for the Gold Coast when they started having engine problems and electrical issues,” Port Macquarie Marine Rescue unit commander Greg Davis said. “They were pretty disorientated and didn’t know where they were.

“The cruiser hit the bottom a few times and the two people on board were in a bit of a panic when we arrived on scene,” Mr Davis said.

Marine Rescue crews were able to pull the vessel out of trouble.

“They hadn’t logged on with Marine Rescue and because of this we didn’t know their exact location. We could have found them quicker if they had done this,” Mr Davis said.

Marine Rescue were also called to reports of a boat stuck on an oyster lease.

“We did send a rescue vessel out, but he had got himself out of trouble before we arrived,” Mr Davis said.

As crews responded to these situations, a houseboat exploded on the Hastings River, injuring two people.

“It was a very busy night for us, it was just one call after another.”

Mr Davis said it’s also a timely reminder for boaties to make sure they register with Marine Rescue before heading out to sea.

“We encourage people if they’re going out on the ocean to wear a life jacket and to make sure they register with Marine Rescue before heading out so that we can keep track of them,” he said.

“All they need to do is log on with Port Macquarie Marine Rescue on Channel 16 VHF and tell us their vessel registration number and how many people are on board, then we can monitor them and check in every three hours.”

Port Macquarie lifeguards were alerted at about 12.15pm after a call was received reporting what appeared to be a body floating in the Hastings River at the entrance.

Head lifeguard James Turnham said three jet skiis did a sweep of the area while a drone conducted surveillance from above.

Lifeguards were supported by two Marine Rescue vessels and the volunteer surf lifesaving call out team, who searched the area two nautical miles out to sea as well as to the north and south of the beach.

“The current was not doing much today and the visibility was excellent. The water is very clear,” Mr Turnham said.

“We searched the river and entrance for about an hour and a half until advised by police to stand down.”

Meanwhile, lifeguards have been closing Flynns and Nobbys beaches almost daily with an increase in shark activity.

“There’s lots of fish in the water at the moment and we’ve even had a few early whale sightings,” Mr Turnham said.

Credit: Port News

Marine Rescue was alerted to the incident at about 6am on Saturday, February 29.

Marine Rescue Port Macquarie unit commander Greg Davies said members responded and helped tow the six metre vessel back to shore.

The incident happened off the coast, near Barries Bay.

Mr Davies said it’s believed the vessel broke down due to issues with the engine.

At the time of the incident, conditions on the water were calm.

Mr Davies said the men put in a call to the Marine Rescue base when the boat started to take in water. He said luckily there were other boaties out on the water, who assisted the men when they got into trouble.

Mr Davies said eight volunteers in two vessels were able to get to the location within 10 minutes of being alerted. By the time the volunteers arrived the boat had nearly completely sunk.

The men were travelling up the coast from Dunbogan and Mr Davies commended them for doing all the right things, including wearing life jackets.

An operation will be undertaken in an attempt to salvage the vessel and an investigation into the cause of the incident will be carried out by Roads and Maritime Services.

Marine Rescue Port Macquarie unit commander Greg Davies said a crew was later called out for a second incident, missing the NRL grand final.

“In the afternoon, right at the start of the 2019 NRL grand final, a yacht ran aground on the sandbar off Lady Nelson wharf,” he said. “There was also a rescue right at the start of the grand final last year. It’s uncommon because usually boats run aground further around the corner but this crew was from Port Stephens and were learning with a new boat. They had just come in on their way to Coffs Harbour and didn’t know the channel.”

Mr Davies said there were a few reminders for boaties contemplating heading to sea or in the river system. He said it is important to check the weather conditions and that batteries are fully charged and fuel tanks are full. All persons should be wearing life jackets and anyone going to sea should log on with channel 16 Port Macquarie.

Meanwhile in a third marine incident, Camden Haven Marine Rescue unit commander Ken Rutledge said a crew was called out around 7pm on Friday, October 4. “We received a call for assistance from a 14 foot vessel which had run aground at Watson Taylors Lake,” he said. “Marine Rescue arrived to find seven people and three dogs on board. The vessel was towed back.”

The sea rescue occurred around 3pm on Monday, July 29, when the cruiser became stranded with electrical problems south of Queens Head.

Marine Rescue Port Macquarie unit commander Greg Davies said volunteers received the call for assistance to rescue four people on board and the newly purchased cruiser.

“They were heading south from South West Rocks to the Central Coast when they broke down,” said Mr Davies. “The boat wouldn’t start due to an electrical failure and needed to be rescued.”

Mr Davies said it was lucky the boat was able to contact Marine Rescue to tow the vessel back to Port Macquarie around 6pm that night.

“In this case they weren’t logged on with anyone so we didn’t know they were travelling,” he said. “Had they lost radio contact we wouldn’t have known they were out there.”

“We recommend if you are going to make a journey up and down the coast then you should log on with the Marine Rescue unit on channel 16. Let Marine Rescue know when you are leaving and an expected arrival time so they can monitor the whole journey and make sure you get to the destination safely.”